Shattered Links
by x snow-pony x
Summary: Slightly AU story where Billie and Toni are replaced by twins Ellie and Ella. When twins arrive at Ashdene Ridge, Mike knows something is up. Finding an email gives him the answers: one is physically injured, the other emotionally scarred. Mike knows he'll have to do everything he can to help these girls, and help them undo the past so they can enjoy the future.
1. Two New Arrivals

**A/N So, I had this idea for a story a while ago, but never got round to actually writing it! XD Anyway, I was thinking about it today and I thought I'd start it. Hope you enjoy it! :-D**

 **I'm using my laptop to write for the first time in ages (usually I use my tablet or more often phone), and so I'm struggling to find some of the keys! XD Hopefully I'll manage alright. :-)**

 **Ellie is portrayed by Gwen Currant and Ella by Nelly Currant.**

 **Mike POV**

It was the middle of the night when they arrived.

I had just woken up to a knock at the door, and opened it to find two young girls, probably only nine or ten, along with a very annoyed-looking social worker.

"Mike, I need you to take these two," she said desperately. No one else will have them, and we've already been to five other care homes, and..."

"It's OK, don't worry, I'll take them," I said, interrupting her. "I'm not sure where they'll sleep, but..."

"OK," said the social worker, who I assumed was new, as I didn't recognise her. "Thanks. I'll email you about them in the morning. Bye."

And with that she was gone.

"OK, you two," I said, trying not to show my shock at the fact I had just been left with two children who I didn't even know the names of. "Come with me."

I put my arm around the shoulders of the more slender of the girls, and she immediately fell to the floor.

"Please, don't hurt me, I'll..." she began in a panicked voice.

"It's OK, I won't," I said calmly, trying to reassure her that everything was OK. I turned to the other girl, who looked like she was in pain. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head, suddenly grabbing my arm to support herself.

"OK, let's get you two into the office and then we can work out what to do, yeah?" I said, giving her a small smile.

She nodded, before, turning to the other girl, still on the floor. "Ellie, come on, come with me."

Ellie shook her head. "No, just you, not him."

I interrupted the conversation, realising I hadn't introduced myself. "I'm Mike, Mike Milligan." I turned to the girl still holding me for support, looking at her questionally.

"I'm Ella," she said. "Ella Johnson." She turned to Ellie. "And this is my older sister, Ellie."

Ellie looked up at me. "I'm not much older," she said. "We're identical twins."

I nodded, having worked that out already. "Do you want to come with me, then?"

Ellie nodded, hesitantly, before getting up and following me and Ella into the office.

"Right," I said once I'd sat Ella down and Ellie had sat next to her, curling herself into a small ball, their arms round each other. "What did your social worker tell you?"

They looked at me blankly.

"The woman who was with you," I said. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing," said Ella, to which Ellie nodded in response.

"Right," I said. "Well, this is a care home, where we look after children if their parents can't. It's called Ashdene Ridge, and you'll live here now."

"Forever?" asked Ellie.

"Until you're old enough to look after yourselves," I said. "Most people leave when they're sixteen."

They nodded.

"Right, if there's nothing else you want to know," I paused as the twins shook their heads, "we'll find you a room."

"OK," they said together, before looking to each other and back to me.

"Come on then," I said. I went to help Ella as she got up, catching her as she fell.

And I accidentally pushed Ellie away.

She screamed.

Suddenly there was a thundering of footsteps, and Ella went over to Ellie, who was struggling to breathe.

I quickly turned around and blocked the door to the office, knowing the last thing they needed was for all the kids to start asking questions.

"What's going on?" asked Tee, being the first one downstairs. She looked to the twins, seeing them through the glass. "Who are they?"

"They've just arrived, they need peace and quiet," I said. "Could you send everyone back to bed for me?"

Tee nodded, stopping the rest of the kids as they came to the bottom of the stairs and sending them back the way they had come.

I gave her a smile of thanks, before I went to see the twins.

"Breathe, Ellie," Ella was saying, holding her sister tight. "Deep breaths, the same as me."

Ellie nodded, resting her head on Ella's shoulder, calming slightly.

"Girls," I said gently, quietly kneeling down beside them. "Do you need a minute?"

Ella shook her head, still trying to calm Ellie, before she turned to me. "Please help."

I gave them both a reassuring smile, knowing how scary this must be for them.

"Ellie," I said gently. "Ellie, look at me."

Ellie looked up.

"I didn't mean to push you," I began, "and I would never hurt you." I gave her another smile. "Try and breathe like your sister, yeah?"

Ellie gave a small nod, trying her best to breathe in time with her sister.

I sat with them for a few minutes until Ellie's breathing was back to normal.

"Are you alright?" Ella asked her.

Ellie nodded, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's OK," said Ella, before they hugged each other tight.

"Girls," I said, interrupting them. "Do you want to come to your room now?"

They both shook their heads, obviously needing a bit more time to calm themselves.

I gave them a reassuring smile to show them that was OK, before I waited for them to be ready.

* * *

We never did get upstairs.

Ellie still wasn't ready to go more than half an hour later, so I showed them into the quiet room, letting them get comfy as I went to go and find them a blanket.

When I came back, a pink fleece blanket in my hand, Ellie and Ella were curled up on the sofa together like two kittens, making it hard to see where one of them ended and the other started.

I gave a small, sad smile, draping the blanket over them and watching as they snuggled into it, their heads resting side by side on a cushion.

"Night night, girls," I whispered, before I left the room and went back into the office, wanting to watch them for a bit to check they were alright.

And I didn't leave my chair all night.

 **A/N So, that was the first chapter. I hope you liked it. :-) There are some mysteries in this at the moment, but a lot will be revealed in the next chapter where Mike gets the email from their social worker. I'm waiting for a character (Linneagb is giving me one for the story as another resident) which is why I ended it here, but hopefully it won't be too long until I can write the next chapter. There are also polyvores on my polyvore account (snow-pony), so you can go check them out if you want. :-) Really hope you liked it, please review! :-D**


	2. The Email

**A/N So, (why do I always start my A/Ns with so? XD) I got a very nice review from Linneagb the other day when I asked her to review this as she thought she had because she read it when I'd just put it up, and she's sent in her character now (which was kind of like a thank you for letting me have my character in her story as a thank you for me putting episodes of TDG on YouTube so she could watch them (becuase she lives in Sweden and BBC iPlayer won't let her watch them), and in her review she asked me to update soon so here I am! (That was an awful sentence, and I'm supposed to be a writer! XD) Anyway, hope you like the chapter! :-D**

 **Linneagb's character is called Zafira Jackson and is portrayed by Quvenzhané Wallis.**

 **Mike POV**

I woke up to the sound of May-Li opening the office door.

"Morning," she said. She then looked at me closer. "Are you alright?"

I sat up. "Yeah." I paused. "Two girls were brought here last night, twins. They're in the quiet room."

May-Li looked a bit shocked. "Are they alright?"

I shook my head, giving a sigh. "Not really," I said. "Their social worker just dumped them here, and neither of them seemed very well..."

I trailed off as I remembered the promise of some information on them this morning, and turned on the computer.

"What're you doing?" asked May-Li as I logged in.

"Their social worker said she'd email me some details on them this morning," I said. I waited for the computer to load, and then opened my emails. "She's sent someth... Oh my God!"

"What is it?" asked May-Li, coming to look at the screen.

I couldn't speak. As I read through everything I'd been sent, I could feel tears coming to my eyes.

Poor little mites.

 _Dear Mr Milligan,_

 _As promised, here is some information on Ellie and Ella Johnson, who I dropped off last night._

 _Ella was released from hospital last night, having only just recovered from lifesaving surgery. Her father had beat her repeatedly, punching her so hard in the ribs and abdomen that some of her organs were damaged. She was unconscious for a week, and had to stay in hospital for nearly a month._

 _Ellie wasn't taken to the hospital in the first place, as the cause of Ella's injuries were not yet known. Her father sexually abused her during this time, telling her it was her fault Ella was in hospital. The police were called when Ellie did not attend school that week, and she was taken to stay with her sister._

 _Their mother died a few years ago, and ever since their father has abused the two girls, Ella usually getting the worst physical abuse, and Ellie the worst sexual abuse. Ella therefore needs physical support, and help doing things until she heals, although the doctors are not sure if she will ever heal fully, and Ellie will need counselling to sort out her psychological problems._

 _Emma Green. (Social Worker)_

"Poor little mites."

I turned to May-Li after having read the email through. "How could someone treat kids like that? They were his own kids, and he..."

May-Li stopped me, obviously seeing how upset I was. "Why don't you go and see the girls, hmm?" she said. "Let them know you know what happened."

I nodded, before going through the door into the quiet room.

The girls were still fast asleep, still curled up together.

And then Ella began to whimper.

She woke, pain clear on her face.

"Are you OK?" I asked, going over to her side.

She shook her head, unable to speak.

"May-Li!" I called.

May-Li came in. "What's wrong?"

"There's something wrong with Ella," I said.

"Right, OK," she said. "Ella, where does it hurt?"

Ella pointed to her stomach, and then I noticed Ellie's elbow pushing down where she had been injured.

"Can I move Ellie?" I asked. Without waiting for an answer I scooped her up (as I was worried about Ella), and gently moved her off the sofa.

She screamed, before suddenly falling silent, her body going limp, paralysed with fear.

"It's alright, I've got you," I said. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

Ellie stayed the same, staring up at me in fear.

And then Bailey burst in.

"Mike, Floss has taken my football, and I've got my big match tomorrow, and if she doesn't give it back then I won't be able to practice!" he yelled.

"Alright, Bailey..." I began, putting Ellie down on the other sofa and turning to him.

"I'll kill her!" he shouted, obviously furious.

Ellie was off in seconds.

She ran out of the quiet room, down the hall, and straight out the front door, me following as soon as I realised what was happening.

As soon as she got outside I began making up ground, and just as she was about to run into the road I grabbed her, making her fall to the ground.

Just as a lorry hurtled past.

She could have been killed.

Ellie immediately curled up into a small ball, her small body shaking with sobs.

"Are you OK?" I asked, making sure to keep my voice soft and gentle. "Are you hurt?"

She didn't answer, but I could see her bloody knees and elbows.

I just hoped that was it.

I took my arms off her, knowing she needed a minute to calm down, and looked back to the house.

And then she was gone.

She was up and running again, along the road this time. I sped off after her, knowing I needed to catch her and take her home.

And then I saw the bus.

It was speeding, doing a lot more than it should.

And it was headed straight for Ellie.

I caught up with her just in time, pushing her onto the pavement, making her trip and fall again.

And that's when I looked at her to check she was OK.

And that's when the bus hit me.

 **A/N This is slightly shorter than I wanted it, but I thought it would be fun to leave it on that cliffhanger instead of writing the next bit. I'll probably write that bit today anyway because I want to, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, please review! :-D**

 **(That bit with Mike wasn't planned (none of my stories ever are, or if they are they never stick to that plan! XD), but I thought of it and I just had to do it! XD)**


	3. Time of Death

**A/N I'm sorry, I know I said I'd update ages ago, but I kind of forgot and then only remembered when I got another review from Holly asking me to update. And now I'm going to be really mean because I'm only going to give you a really short mean chapter, but I'm going to write the next chapter before I put this up, so you won't have to wait long to find out what happens. Hope you enjoy this anyway. :-)**

 **I forgot to do this last time, because I was excited about writing, but I need to thank ATwistOfFate55, Fanatic1234 and Linneagb for reviewing the first chapter, and Linneagb and Holly for reviewing the last chapter. Every review makes me so happy, I really love getting them. :-D**

 **Mike POV**

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beeeeeeeeeep.

I could hear as the sound rang out, showing that my heart had stopped. I began to rise, watching as a doctor began to do chest compressions.

But it wasn't working.

They continued, five, six, seven times, all the way to thirty.

"Charging, get ready to shock. Clear! Shocking."

They shocked my body, the shock going through it.

Nothing else happened.

They carried on, beginning the compressions again.

One, two, three... Twenty-nine, thirty.

"Clear! Shocking."

They shocked me again.

Again nothing happened.

"No output."

One, two, three...

They carried on, unwilling to give up, for over twenty minutes.

"He's had no output for twenty-three minutes," said the doctor. "Are we all agreed?"

Everyone nodded.

The doctor looked to the clock. "Time of death..."

 **A/N I'm really mean aren't I? XD I'm going to write the next chapter now, and I won't put this one up until I've finished writing it, otherwise you might have to wait ages again and they would be really unfair! Anyway, hope you enjoyed it (even though you probably want to throw things at me "hides so I can't be hit"), please review! :-D**

 **There is one thing I've just remembered I wanted to say, about the title. If any of you are wondering what it means, or how it relates to the story, then here's an explanation:**

 **Well, you know the TBR episode 'Chain Reaction'? (Series 2 episode 13, where Tracy has a panic attack.) Well, at the end of that, Tracy says that one weak link can upset or break the chain of people in Elm Tree House, meaning herself in that episode. And a little while ago I came up with something called the Shattered Link Analogy. Basically, I made Tracy into a glass paper chain link (just because glass works the best) and thought about everyone else having little hammers and hammering away at her bit by with with everything that happened (using their hammers accidentally, in effect), until she completely broke (like glass would if you kept hitting it). Then when Mike caught her it was like him catching all those little pieces, and then during the quiet room scenes he was gluing all the pieces together, and then keeping an eye on it (like he kept an eye on her) to make sure it stayed together. So I thought it would make a really cool title for the story, as Ellie and Ella are now links in the Dumping Ground chain of people, and they're broken as well. Let me know if you agree! :-D**


	4. Hoping With All My Heart

**A/N So, here's part two of that "two chapter write before I put anything up" thing, hope you enjoy it. :-)**

 **I would say thank you for reviews, but I don't have any yet! XD I'll have to say thank you once I've put up chapter 3. XD**

 **Ellie POV**

I sank to the floor as Mike was hit.

What had I done?

May-Li came running out, gasping as she saw Mike.

"What happened?" she asked.

I pointed at the bus, unable to speak.

"Oh my God," said May-Li, bending down next to Mike and shaking his shoulder. "Mike? Can you hear me?"

Mike began to wake up, opening his eyes and looking around him in alarm. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You were hit by a bus, just lie still," May-Li replied, putting her hand on his shoulder to calm him. "Ellie, will you go and get the phone for me?"

I shakily stood up, before running to the house. As I went through the front door, I ran into a dark-skinned girl.

"Watch where you're going!" she said. She then had a second look at me. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ellie," I said. I then remembered the phone, and ran into the office, got the phone, and ran back outside again.

The girl followed me, looking shocked when she saw Mike.

"Thanks, Ellie," said May-Li, taking the phone. She then saw the girl behind me.

"Zafira, will you go and tell everyone that Mike needs to go to hospital," she said. "Ellie, you go with her."

I nodded, following Zafira into the house, stopping behind her as she yelled "House meeting!" up the stairs, before she went into the kitchen. I stopped at the quiet room to see Ella.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

I shakily sat down on the sofa opposite her. "Mike got hit by a bus."

Ella sat up fast, wincing in pain as she did so. "What?"

"He pushed me out of the way so I didn't get hit, and it hit him," I said, tears coming to my eyes.

Ella signalled me to come over to her, and then she gave me a hug as I began to cry.

"He'll be alright, don't worry," said Ella, but I knew she was just saying it to make me happy.

After a few moments I pulled away, remembering the house meeting Zafira had called.

"One of the girls is going to tell everyone what happened," I said. "Should we go and listen?"

Ella nodded, before standing up and going to the kitchen, me following her.

* * *

 **Ella POV**

When we got there everyone was gathered in the kitchen, Zafira telling everyone that Mike needed to go to hospital.

And then, as soon as they saw us, they started asking who we were.

I watched as Ellie backed away from the noise, obviously scared.

"Quiet!" I shouted.

Immediately the room fell silent, and Ellie stepped forward again.

"I'm Ella, and this is my sister Ellie," I said. "We arrived last night."

A blonde haired girl nodded. "Yes, I saw you two in the quiet room." She paused, looking at Ellie in concern. "You were screaming, weren't you?"

Ellie nodded timidly.

"Don't worry, there's nothing to be scared about," she said. She gave us a smile. "I'm Tee, by the way."

"Anyway," said a dark-skinned girl, who was standing at the front of the group. "May-Li told me to tell you that Mike's going to have to go to hospital. I'm not really sure what happened, but..."

* * *

 **Ellie POV**

I watched as Zafira told us about what had happened to Mike, and I felt sick.

It was all my fault.

If only I hadn't have run ou...

Suddenly I felt the sickness rise into my throat, and I vomited all over the floor.

Everyone turned to look, before making sounds of disgust.

I ran again, back to the quiet room, sitting on the sofa with my knees to my chest, knowing I could do nothing to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks.

And with all my heart I was hoping Mike would be OK.

 **A/N Sorry about the length, but I wanted to get this up now, because I want to go to sleep, and I thought it would be good to end it before I go to Mike POV (where I'll relate back to what happened in the last chapter) and everything that's happening there. Thanks goes again to Linneagb for Zafira, hope I wrote her well. :-) Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, now that you finally know what happened to Mike. XD Please review! :-D**


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